The best Strava alternatives in 2026
Strava is a GPS activity-tracking app for runners, cyclists and other athletes. Clubs are free groups inside Strava where organizers post announcements, run weekly leaderboards, chat in Club Messages and create Club Events with RSVPs. If it’s stopped fitting how you run, here are 5 alternatives worth a look — what each is best at, what it costs, and when staying on Strava is the right call.
Checked October 2026 · By the Hiive team
The short answer
- Hiive — best for organizers, venues and communities in India, from gigs to run clubs, who want tickets in ₹, curated entry and venue schedules in one place.
- WhatsApp Communities — free, familiar coordination for groups whose members already use WhatsApp.
- Heylo — run clubs and social groups that want events, chat and payments in one app.
- Spond — teams and clubs that need attendance, chat and payments for a known group of members.
- Meetup — interest groups that meet regularly and want to be found by strangers.
Why people look for a Strava alternative
- The club wants to charge for some sessions, or sell merch, and Strava has no payments for clubs.
- Organizers want to own their member list, which Strava doesn't export.
- Clubs that partner with venues, cafés or brands need tickets, schedules and campaigns.
- Not every member tracks on Strava, and newcomers want to find the club before they sign up.
The alternatives, one by one
01 · OUR PICK
Hiive
Hiive is an app for finding local events and the communities behind them — gigs, comedy nights, workshops, supper clubs, run clubs, games and meetups — with a business workspace for the venues, event IPs and organizers who run them. Ticketing, venue schedules, memberships, campaigns, analytics, a shop and payouts live in one place, and the same events surface to people nearby in the Hiive app.
Hiive vs Strava, in detailPick it over Strava if
- You charge for some runs, rides or workshops and want payouts in ₹.
- You want to own your member list and see who's viewing your events.
- You partner with a venue, café or brand and need schedules, campaigns or a shop.
- You want members to find your club locally before they ever download a tracker.
Worth knowing
- Hiive is newer than most tools it's compared with. Its event and community coverage is deepest in Mumbai, where it launched, and is growing city by city.
- Business pricing isn't a public rate card: the software is free for the first couple of months, then a fee is agreed with each partner based on the value delivered.
02
WhatsApp Communities
Best for: Free, familiar coordination for groups whose members already use WhatsApp
WhatsApp Communities bring related WhatsApp groups together under one announcement channel. Admins post updates to everyone, members chat in the groups, and Events let people RSVP and get reminders.
Good at
- Almost everyone in India already has WhatsApp, so joining takes seconds.
- An announcement group where admins post and members can reply or react.
- Events with RSVPs (including +1 guests) and reminders, launched in 2024.
Watch out for
- No ticketing or payments, so collecting fees means a separate tool or manual transfers.
- No public discovery: new members only arrive by invite link or word of mouth.
- No venue booking, attendance analytics or booking funnel.
Pricing: Free for admins and members.
03
Heylo
Best for: Run clubs and social groups that want events, chat and payments in one app
Heylo is a US-based community app for clubs such as run clubs and social groups, combining events, group chat, a member directory and payments. It positions itself as an alternative to Meetup, with a free Base plan and paid tiers that lower payment fees.
Good at
- Unlimited members and events on every plan, including the free Base tier.
- Group chats, a member directory, questionnaires and icebreakers help members get to know each other.
- Clear published pricing, with payment fees that fall as you move up tiers.
Watch out for
- INR isn't a supported payment currency, so Indian groups can't collect fees in ₹.
- The free plan carries the highest payment fee (5% + $0.59), before Stripe processing.
- Email sends are capped by plan tier.
Pricing: Base: free, with a payment fee of 5% + $0.59.
04
Spond
Best for: Teams and clubs that need attendance, chat and payments for a known group of members
Spond is a free app for sports teams, clubs and groups to organise events, track attendance, chat and collect payments. Spond Club adds a web tool for larger clubs with a member register, renewals and club websites.
Good at
- Free to use, with no subscription — costs come only from payment fees.
- Solid team admin: repeating events, a season planner, RSVPs and waitlists.
- Chat, payments and fundraising in the same app as attendance.
Watch out for
- INR is not a supported payment currency, so Indian groups can't collect fees through Spond.
- No discovery marketplace — it organises an existing group rather than helping new people find you.
- No venue or court booking.
Pricing: The app is free; Spond earns from transaction fees on payments.
05
Meetup
Best for: Interest groups that meet regularly and want to be found by strangers
Meetup is a long-running platform for interest-based groups and the events they hold. Members join and RSVP free; organizers run their groups on a paid plan, with a limited free Starter tier.
Good at
- A large, established discovery network — people search Meetup specifically to find groups.
- Group-first structure: members, RSVPs, waitlists and attendance live under one group page.
- Works for almost any interest, from tech talks to hiking to language exchange.
Watch out for
- Organizers pay a subscription before they can charge for events; the free Starter tier caps events and attendees.
- Member email export and the API are limited to Meetup Pro.
- No venue or court scheduling, and no activity tracking.
Pricing: Starter: free — one group, up to 2 in-person events a month and 10 attendees, no online events, and no event fees.
Compared side by side
Yes Partly No? Not confirmed from official sources
Leaving Strava? Take your people with you
Strava has no native way to export a club's member list. The API's List Club Members endpoint returns summary data only, under restrictive API terms, so the practical route is to invite members to opt in somewhere you control.
How to export club members from StravaQuestions
It depends on why you're leaving. For event organizers, venues and communities in India that want ticketing with payouts in rupees, curated membership, venue schedules and booking analytics in one place, Hiive is the strongest fit. WhatsApp Communities is best for free, familiar coordination for groups whose members already use WhatsApp. Heylo is best for run clubs and social groups that want events, chat and payments in one app. Spond is best for teams and clubs that need attendance, chat and payments for a known group of members.
The club wants to charge for some sessions, or sell merch, and Strava has no payments for clubs. Organizers want to own their member list, which Strava doesn't export. Clubs that partner with venues, cafés or brands need tickets, schedules and campaigns. Not every member tracks on Strava, and newcomers want to find the club before they sign up.
Stay on Strava if: your club is free and your members already track everything on strava; weekly leaderboards and training analytics matter more to your members than tickets; your members are spread across cities or countries.
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See the whole platform →Sources and disclosure
Written by the Hiive team. We make a competing product, so every claim about another product here comes from its own website or help centre, checked in October 2026. Prices and features change — check the provider before you decide. Spotted something out of date? Email jai@hiive.club and we’ll fix it.